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In
my secondary school days, despite the fact that we didn’t
have career counselor. I knew I was not good in Mathematics
and the sciences, perhaps with the exception or Biology. Mathematics
always gave me goose pimples. Each time we had the subject,
it was like attempting to swallow one of these malaria tablets.
May
be my problem was psychological but my morbid fear or disdain
for mathematics or any subject relating to calculation was
palpable. But somehow, when you talk of English, History,
Government and similar art subjects, I was in my best elements.
As
I entered High School for my ‘A’ level, I already
knew within me that I would be a writer. At that time, I had
almost completed the manuscript of a novel. My interest in
current affairs was almost addictive. I could spend my last
pocket money on newspapers. That was the time I developed
interests in TIME magazine. I’m talking of the 1970’s.
And that explains why today I still prefer TIME to NEWSWEEK.
In
other words, I located my talent and interest and cued to
it and went ahead to read journalism. I knew my purpose. God
does not and cannot make mistakes. I know that that’s
what God called me to do. Today if I’m offered a N5million
per annum job at an oil company, I can’t take it because
I will be miserable on the job.
Apart from the fact that I’m
not used to sitting in an office from 8.am to 5p.m, the excitement
of the newsroom, the informal lifestyle of an average writer
would make it difficult for me to fit it to the drab routine
of writing memos upon memos, sipping several cups of some
miserable coffees, dressed up in suits and ties, even when
it’s most inconvenient.
There
is a purpose for the life of everyman. In Jeremiah 1: 5, God
said: “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee;
and before thou camest out of the womb, I sanctified thee…”
In
other words, nobody came to this world as accident. God has
a purpose for our individual lives. But unfortunately, we
human beings do not explore to the fullest, the gifts God
has deposited in us. Myles Munroe said that most fertile ground
is the cemetery because most of the best ideas in the world
are buried with people who never actualised them.
How
to discover yourself
You may be wondering how you can discover yourself. First,
there must be an innate potential or gifting in you, which
are unknown to you and may be begging for actualisation.
We
are all endowed or imbued with various gifts in this world.
In spite of millions of people on the face of the earth, there
are no two persons with the same fingerprint. Just like there
are no two persons on the face of this earth with the same
facial identity. They may look alike like identical twins,
but there is always something to differentiate them. It means
that man is unique in his or her own way. You need to discover
that you came to this world a unique being.
The
first thing you need to do is to pray for God to open your
eyes. Even before praying, you already had some talents or
abilities in certain direction. You only need God’s
confirmation in that direction.
You
may discover that someone brought in some goods and wanted
to sell them, perhaps in offices. Within a week, you already
sold all due to your persuasive mien and some marketing techniques.
You better locate yourself as a marketing person and stop
writing applications for “any job” in offices.
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Or perhaps you discover that you easily make friends. You are jovial, lively, courteous and hardly irritable even at extreme provocation, you better join a Public Relations Department of |
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a firm or be employed as a receptionist or an air hostess.Also, when you derive fulfillment
in a particular area, even if it's not well remunerated,
stick to it. You can also identify yourself when there is
something in your subconscious that propels you towards
a particular line. When you notice this, apply what I’ll
call the triple ‘P’ – Pause, Play and
Perceive. Then meditate and act on it.
An English philosopher,
William Blake said “no one can desire what he has
not perceived”.
Catch the Vision
You must have a vision. A man without a vision is like a
mariner without the rider. Prov. 29:18 says “where
there is no vision, the people perish”.
Once you have caught the
vision, don’t be an average man. Do the extra-ordinary.
Go an extra mile. Be creative and imaginative in whatever
you do. Calve a niche for yourself. Don’t be what
others expect you to be.
Let’s take the church
as an example. There is a tendency for everyone wanting
to carry the microphone and preach. But God has not called
everyone to the Ministry of microphone. Quite a number of
believers are in a hurry to mount the pulpit and minister
under the guise that “I’ve been called”.
But you miss it.
In the first place, even
if you are called, preaching is just about 10 percent of
what it takes to run a Ministry. The fact that God called
you does not necessarily mean you have to start a church.
Some are called into the Youth Ministry (their gifting is
to minister to youths), some to children, some to prisoners
while some people’s ministry is to finance the Gospel.
You therefore need to discover your gifting by depending
on the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible tells us in Matt.
20:14-30 about the parable of the talents and what happened
to the servants that buried his talent. The one, who hid
his talent, it was taken away from him. May God not take
away the talents He has graciously given us.
You are not an accident
You did not come into this world an accident. God has a
unique role/purpose for us to fulfil. Believe in yourself
and be self-confident. Have you ever-wondered why babies
crawl, fall, crawl and walk? Do away with inferiority complex.
In whatever you choose to do, make up your mind that it
is possible.
Dream Killers
There are both external and internal dream killers
External –
Your Detractors. Even when you have tried and failed,
keep trying. Don’t stop. But in your process of trying
against the Sambalats and Tobiahs would come to discourage
you (Neh. 4:7). But don’t be deterred.
Internal –
Yourself. When you begin to doubt yourself, your
gifts and your ability, you are your worst enemy, particularly
when you procrastinate. Procrastination is a deadly virus
that can kill your dream. Whatever you can do today, don’t
postpone till tomorrow. Don’t be afraid to take risks.
Late Archbishop Benson Idahosa said, “It is risky
not to take risks”.
Have faith in God. In whatever
you choose to do, make up your mind that it is possible.
Richard
Akinola, journalist, facilitator of
Centre For Free Speech resides in Lagos, Nigeria. |
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